Hildaline
by AnnaBumbleby
Summary: A Hilda AU based off the book and movie, Coraline. When young Hildaline grows dissatisfied with her mother, she is whisked off to a fantasy world, where everything appears to be perfect, except for the flaw of the button eyes.
1. Chapter One: The Well

Mud sloshed along the side of the tires as the small, yellow car pulled up, a moving van following behind.

A girl hopped out of the backseat, smiling as she gazed up at the large house she would be calling her own.

Well, not entirely her own.

Upstairs, lived a retired librarian, who claimed to be a ringmaster for a great mouse parade.

Downstairs, lived two old women, Ms. Mara and Ms. Kelly. They used to be great actors in their time, but now, spent their days with dozens of small Deerfox.

The girl, Hildaline, stood on her front porch, wearing a yellow rain jacket and boots.

She weaved past the movers, who were bringing in the furniture from the moving van.

She walked past the dead flowers in the garden, grabbing a stick on her way.

She closed her eyes, walking with the stick pointed out, as if she was following it.

She passed a grove of apple trees, and up a hill that overlooked her home.

A Raven landed on a rock nearby, cawing loudly.

"AAAAAHH!" Hildaline shouted, throwing a rock near the bird to scare it away.

"You scared me!" She exclaimed. The Raven didn't move, watching her as she huffed, closing her eyes once more. She opened them, looking at the bird once more. "I'm looking for an old well. Have you seen it?" The Raven gave her silence. "Not talking, huh."

She walked away, following the weaving path up to the highest part of the hill.

She stopped, feeling rotting wood under her feet.

"Careful!" A voice yelled, startling Hildaline. She turned to the voice.

A masked figure on a dirt bike rode towards her, causing her to screen, jumping out of the way.

The figure stopped, and pulled off the black helmet on his head. A boy, around the same age as Hildaline. He had messy brown hair and dark eyes.

"Lemme guess, you're from someone… dry and barren." The boy looked at the stick in Hildaline's hands.

"What?" Hildaline put her hands on her hips, stick in hand.

"That's just a stick" The boy pointed out.

"It's a dowsing rod…" Hildaline corrected.

"Right, a water witch."

"Why were you following me?" Hildaline pointed her stick towards the boy.

"Oh, no, I wasn't. I was just following the Raven." The boy corrected.

"I don't like being stalked. Not by psycho nerds and their stupid birds."

"He's not mine. He's kinda feral. I do leave bird seed out for him though."

"Look, if I'm some water witch, then where's the stupid well?"

"Careful! You stomp too hard, and you'll fall through!" The boy pointed at the mud underneath her feet. Hildaline moved, and the boy swept the mud away with his gloved hand.

The rotting wood. The boy carefully removed the wood top and the two gazed into the well.

"It's so deep that if you fell through, it would look like nighttime in the day." The boy said, causing Hildaline to glance at him.

"Where do you live?" The boy asked suddenly, causing Hildaline to sit up.

"Oh, my family just moved in over there." She pointed towards the house in the distance.

"I'm surprised she let you move in…" The boy frowned. "My grandma owns the place. She doesn't like letting families with kids move in."

"What? Why?" Hildaline asked.

"I'm not really supposed to talk about it. I'm David." He rubbed the back of his neck.

"I'm Hildaline."

"Weird name."

"Hey!"

"It's unique though." David assured, gaining a glare from Hildaline.

"David!" An older woman called in the distance.

"Ah jeez." David frowned.

"I think someone's calling you." Hildaline folded her arms.

"Yeah. It was nice meeting you, water witch. Just, wear gloves next time." David pointed to his own black gloves.

"Why?"

"That stick of yours is poison oak."

Hildaline gasped, throwing the stick to the ground, as David rode away on his dirt bike.


	2. Chapter 2: The Door

"I almost fell down a well today." Hildaline said, iching the rash on her hand.

Johanna, Hildaline's mum, sat at the kitchen table, typing on her laptop.

"I could've died." Hildaline continued, glancing to her mom, who was deep in thought.

"That's nice, dear." Johanna mumbled, very focused on her work. Hilda frowned, tapping her foot on the linoleum.

"Mum! I'm so bored!" Hildaline groaned, looking out at the rain, that pitter-pattered, dropping onto the soggy dirt.

"Find something to do. Preferably inside, I don't want to have to clean up mud already." Mum said, not even glancing up.

"You're no fun." Hildaline mumbled, walking out of the kitchen.

The main foyer was spacious, and the carpet smelt of dust. It seemed to be full of dust as well, as Hildaline took a step, and it made her cough.

_Ding Dong_

The doorbell rang, as Hildaline fanned away the dust.

"Please get the door!" Mum shouted, and Hildaline nodded, going to answer the door. She was greeted by…

David!

"David? What are you doing here?" Hildaline asked, noticing the boy held something behind his back.

"So I was at my friend, Frida's, she lives in the same building as my Grandma and-"

"Hurry up, it's REALLY cold and REALLY rainy." Hildaline shivered, pulling her yellow coat closer.

"Okay, okay." David took a doll from behind his back.  
"What the-" Hildaline gasped, looking up and down the doll. It looked exactly like her. Uncanny, from the bright teal hair, to the yellow rain jacket. Hildaline frowned, peeking under the jacket of the doll. A red sweater! And a teal skirt!

"Yeah, it looks exactly like you…" David said quietly, watching Hilda compare her outfit to the doll.

"Where did you get this?" Hildaline asked cautiously.

"As I said, my friend Frida-" David was cut off again.

"Who?" Hildaline asked, folding her arms.

"Never mind, it was in my Grandma's house that Frida found." David said nervously.

"Oh…" Hildaline stared at the doll, holding it close.

A short while passed, and Hildaline found herself wandering the house. Her mum suggested counting all the windows, and all the doors of the house. Step by step, she walked, counting one by one, jotting them down in a notepad, her doll in her arms.

"So many doors…." Hildaline groaned, entering the den.

An empty fireplace sat by the wall, a photo on the wall above it, of Hildaline and her mum.

"I remember that day." Hildaline smiled, glancing around the room. Two windows next to the fireplace, and lastly, a small bump in the wall, hidden behind a packing box.

"What the-" Hildaline traced her hand over the bump. A door! Hildaline felt a keyhole, and frowned.

"Muuuuuuuum!" Hildaline shouted.

"I'm busy!" Mum shouted back, from the kitchen.

"There's a little door here, and I think it's locked!" Hildaline yelled. No response from Mum. Figures. "PLEEEEASE!" Hildaline shouted.

After a groan of frustration, Mum came into the room, with an odd black key. She sighed, looking at the bump, and used the back end of the key to tear into the wallpaper, enough to reveal the door.

With a quick turn of her wrist, the door opened, revealing…. Nothing!

"What?" Hildaline stared, seeing dark bricks on the other side.

"They must've filled this in when they split the house, Hildaline." Mum said, closing the door. She gently patted Hildaline on the head, going back to her work.

"Wait!" Hildaline protested.

"No, I've got stuff to write." Mum responded, causing Hildaline to groan.

"She didn't lock it." Hildaline mumbled to her doll.

Later that night, Hildaline and her mum sat at the clear and boring table, eating boring food, such as soggy meatloaf.

"Please finish your dinner." Mum said, her laptop at the table as she ate.

"It's really… chewy." Hildaline frowned, choking down the food.

"Well, this is all we have until I go shopping tomorrow." Mum response. Her eyes were baggy, clearly showing how much she had been working.  
"Gross." Hildaline commented. "Can I go to bed now?"

"Fine." Mum sighed, as Hildaline cleared her plate, popped it in the sink, and ran up to bed.

"It's so boring here…" Hildaline mumbled, as she dozed off to sleep.


End file.
